Customer Reviews

Essential Tammy Wynette

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3 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Legacy did a great job with their recent double-disc Essential volumes on Earl Scruggs and Kris Kristofferson (as well as previous sets on Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson). Now it was Tammy Wynette's turn to be Essentialized and surely she would receive similar treatment, right? A retrospective that would contain all 40 of her top ten hits (unlike the single disc sets that only hint at her brilliance), surrounded by little filler (unlike her unfocused Tears Of Fire box set)? Seems like a no-brainer, right?

Afterall, Wynette - the queen of unstable domesticity - was unsurpassed in capturing the effects a rocky marriage has on the kids in such sagas as "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," "Bedtime Story," "I Don't Wanna Play House," and "Kids Say The Darndest Things." As evidenced on her signature tune "Stand By Your Man," she would try her best to make a relationship work. But when that wasn't ultimately possible, she would get on with her life, be it hesitantly ("Til I Can Make It On My Own") or defiantly ("Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad").

While all of those landmark hits are here, not much else is, unfortunately. Wynette's Essential volume - while remastered - inexplicably contains a mere 14-tracks, making it even inferior to the long existing single disc sets Anniversary and 20 Greatest Hits. What a shame! Tammy deserves far better!

I continue to be amazed as to why Sony continues to hack the Wynette music legacy. Where are tunes like "I L-O-V-E Y-O-U" and "There Goes That Old Steel Guitar" and Jones duet "We Beleive In Each Other"!?! Is it a question of 'who owns the gold' (the Wynette family?) or is Sony just SO short-sighted that they can't get the QUEEN of County Music (REAL country music as far as I'm concerned, instead of these dolled up imitations we've got today) from the 60's/70's music catalog RIGHT.

As good as the music is here, 3 stars, but that's not the point; this is soooooo disappointing to see the see the same line-up of songs on compilation after compilation. I grew up with this stuff, lived it to an extent, but vinyl records only last so long. This woman's LPs rank up there with anyone's - start doing it right for once, Sony.

(There, I've said it...)

The remastering is great, the photos but I'm sorry Sony didn't go all out. The lack of tunes is a grave injustice. Someone of Tammy's stature deserves more than one short disc of remastered tunes. Far from "essential".

Only 14 tracks??? Tammy had 20 #1 Country hits, and almost 20 other Top 10s, yet Sony thinks they can release this & everyone will be satisfied? At the very least, Tammy deserves a nice 2-disc collection with between 50-60 tracks. Better yet, give her the royal 4-disc box set treatment. Come on, Sony!

Tammy's music is always enjoyable to listen too. Many of Tammy's huge hits are included in this collection. However, Sony needs to put 2 or 3 unreleased or 2 or 3 not-on-every-compilation release songs to give buyers a reason to buy the new cd.

This time, however, Sony has tried a new approach---and one which I believe Tammy's fans will greatly appreciate. It included many never-before-published photographs of Tammy. Many appear to be alternate takes from photo shoots that have appeared on other albums. For example, the exquisite cover photo appears to be from the photo shoot used for her "We Sure Can Love Each Other Album." There's also a photo from the session used on her "Good Love and Heartbreak" album and one alternate take from the session from 1977-78 used for her publicity photos, her autobiography, "Stand By Your Man," and her "Womanhood" lp. There is also a newly-published photo of a fun-loving Tammy from around 1978.

The liner notes written about Tammy are interesting but nothing new. If you enjoy Tammy's music and want to see lots of alternative photo takes (along with a few familiar ones), this is a great CD to add to your collection.

Hopefully, an Essential Vol II will be released of Tammy's music.